


Frondbreeze's Meeting

by FionaBunny



Series: Open Skies [2]
Category: Original Work, Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Abuse, Emotional Manipulation, Original Cat Clans (Warriors), Original Character(s), Original setting, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:26:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28436850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FionaBunny/pseuds/FionaBunny
Summary: "Her mate was an unpredictable tom—some days he would be attentive as ever, and some days her every word seemed to fall on deaf ears. In fact, recently she’d had trouble getting him to even acknowledge her presence at all. But at least he listened to her now, on a night when it was important, and that gave her hope. She could not handle having this ignored any longer."A stand-alone scene from the canon of my Open Skies warriors series! I recommend not reading this until you finish Chapter 9 of Blood in the Tundra (also in this series), but after then it can be read any time!Trigger Warning: please be aware that this work directly depicts a neglectful and manipulative relationship, as well as verbal manipulation/abuse. If this triggers you, please know this work isn't necessary to read for the canon of this series, and put your mental health first!
Series: Open Skies [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867006
Kudos: 4





	Frondbreeze's Meeting

Frondbreeze woke in the dark from a fitful sleep, already worried about how this night was going to go. She was sleeping with two elders, Shadowfall and Sapfur, as well as Dewfreeze, an old white queen who had very recently given birth to a pitiful litter that had quickly died off, save one scrawny orange kit. It was an odd experience, sleeping apart from her Clan, but one she’d become used to for the sake of her unborn kits.

Now, clumsy with the weight of her swollen belly, Frondbreeze pushed herself onto her feet and tottered out of the nursing den. Greylight, his grey fur glowing under the moon’s weak gaze, was curled up just outside, his new apprentice Bentpaw tucked into a far corner to sleep. Frondbreeze noted that the young tom looked just as angry unconscious as he did at his apprentice ceremony. She carefully avoided stepping on Greylight’s tail and kept deadly silent—he’d been tending to her constantly, a novelty that made her feel equal parts special and uncomfortable. At the slightest hint of her waking he would be up and at her side in a flash, asking her long lists of questions about her pain and her needs.

She stumbled out of the medicine hollow and into the moonlit clearing of the camp. The cold and consuming darkness of No-Sun blanketed the far reaches of the clearing in shadow, and a light frost on the ground bit at her paw pads. This frost would be a full coating of snow in a couple days; Frondbreeze could feel it in her bones. She opened her mouth to draw the frigid air past her scent glands, immediately identifying the freshest scent in the clearing.

_ He listened,  _ she thought, almost sighing in relief. Her mate was an unpredictable tom—some days he would be attentive as ever, and some days her every word seemed to fall on deaf ears. In fact, recently she’d had trouble getting him to even acknowledge her presence at all. But at least he listened to her now, on a night when it was important, and that gave her hope. She could not handle having this ignored any longer.

Frondbreeze crossed the clearing and left camp through the corridor between two boulders, her belly so large that she hardly fit through. She was not a particularly graceful warrior at the best of times, but now she felt like a stone tumbling loudly through the underbrush, unable to weave around even the most obvious obstacles. Her dark grey fur snagged in almost every bush and her paws tripped over every root, her belly fur picking up clumps of bracken from the forest floor. She would not have been hard to track, and this knowledge sent shivers up her spine. She was suddenly hyper-aware of the (very stale) fox scent she was passing.

As Frondbreeze pushed through the final few walls of ferns, she locked eyes with the handsomest tom she’d ever met. Tall, muscular, a thick tabby pelt and wild eyes. She always thought the creamy white patch on his throat was so cute, for reasons she didn’t quite know. Even his lost tail made him look even more handsome and unique in her eyes.

“Amberstar,” she sighed, “you came!” She bounded up to her mate and pressed into his side to warm up after her trek.

“Frondbreeze.” Amberstar’s tone was formal and his gaze was distant, though he did nod at her. She used to love his stoic, strong nature, but now it just made her feel self conscious, even a bit angry.

“How has your day been? You haven’t been to the nursing den in so long!” Frondbreeze tried to twine her tail around Amberstar, but he edged pointedly away from her grasp.

“I am PineClan’s leader. I have many duties to attend to.”

“But I haven’t seen you in so long, Amberstar,” Frondbreeze said. “Won’t you make time for me?”

“You know I would if I could, Frondbreeze.”

“But you  _ can _ ! This is what I wanted to talk about, Amberstar. I know you’re a busy cat, but you have a deputy and plenty of loyal Warriors to tend to camp! I’m sure they would understand you spending some time with me, if you would just  _ tell  _ them—”

“No! I cannot tell them we are mates, Frondbreeze, and you know why.”

“But it’s not fair!” Frondbreeze hunched her shoulders, then grew hot with embarrassment at how childish she sounded. “I didn’t tell my mother for you, and now she’s in StarClan. I can’t tell my friends, or Greylight, or anyone else. Why won’t you let me tell anyone we’re in love? I’m so excited and proud to be your mate, to be carrying your kits!”

“Because if they knew, you’d become a weakness of mine, Frondbreeze,” Amberstar said, the slightest hint of affection touching his voice. “I need to be a bastion of strength for PineClan’s warriors, an image for them to take after. Taking time away from the Clan to attend to personal matters would weaken my image, as well as the image of PineClan. ”

“Your  _ image _ ? What about me? Aren’t you willing to show a bit of weakness for me? Isn’t that what love is?”

“I show you my love by protecting you. What more could you  _ possibly _ need?”

“I need more than safety!” Frondbreeze stood and stumbled around to face Amberstar. “I need someone who cares about me and shows me that they do!”

“What better way is there to care about someone than protecting them?” Amberstar did not seem genuine in his confusion—his tone was as cool and detached as ever, and it infuriated Frondbreeze.

“You know what I think, Amberstar? I think you want nothing to do with me or my kits. I think you’re ashamed of me!”

The words burned Frondbreeze’s throat as she said them, and immediately she regretted it. She was both afraid that he would confirm her fears and afraid that she would offend and enrage him with such a horrible accusation. As much as her mate infuriated her, she didn’t want him to leave her.

Amberstar simply looked at her and tipped his head, something he knew made her heart melt every time he did it.

“Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound?” he asked.

“Y-yes…. I’m just afraid, Amberstar. It’s almost been eight moons since we became mates. I’m going to give birth to  _ your _ kits! All I want is to be able to tell them who their father is, so they can be proud of you and the blood they carry.”

“It is out of the question. They would simply become more weaknesses of mine, and even more easily targeted than you. You will have to keep me a secret to them, for their sake, Frondbreeze.”

“And what about when you visit them? I can’t imagine you’ll play with  _ Brightkit _ as much as your own kits.” Frondbreeze wrinkled her nose. She pitied the little eyesore, and tended to him sometimes when Dewfreeze wouldn’t, but she already knew he would be a strain on the camp. Nevermind that she resented Dewfreeze for having such an attentive mate….

“I am a  _ leader _ , Frondbreeze. What makes you think I will have time to visit  _ kits _ ?” Amberstar asked, sounding incredulous.

“Sh-shouldn’t the leader of PineClan visit the kits of his Clan? They’re our future!”

“I am far too busy strengthening the capable members of our Clan to waste my time standing and staring at kits too young to learn from my presence. I will spend time with them, yes—when they are apprentices and can be  _ useful _ to spend my time on.”

“So…you won’t make time for me?”

“Frondbreeze, I hope you know how selfish you’re being. The entire Clan deserves my time, not just you, even if we’re mates. It’s incredibly childish of you! I would expect better from my own mate. Are you not mature enough to keep your personal life to yourself?”

“I am! I promise I am!” Frondbreeze insisted, her pelt bristling with shame.

“Then  _ don’t push it _ , Frondbreeze. Learn to value the time I have for you, just as every other Clan member values my attention. And learn to appreciate the sacrifice I make for you by keeping our relationship private.”

Frondbreeze stiffened. Even though she was doing everything he asked, he still wouldn’t take the time to come and visit his own kits? Not as their father, not as their leader, not even as their clanmate? She felt her claws worm into the cold, hard earth, and her hackles prickled, though she forced them to lay flat.

“Do you have anything else to say?” Amberstar asked.

“....No, Amberstar, I don’t.” Frondbreeze felt the kittens inside her squirm, as if in protest.  _ I’m sorry, little ones,  _ she thought.  _ Maybe someday I’ll tell you. _

“Wonderful. I’m glad you’ve decided to listen to reason. It is for the safety of your kits, I promise. For their own good.” Amberstar stood and turned to leave the clearing, fluffing his fur a bit to stay warm. Frondbreeze shivered and stood to follow.

“Wait! Amberstar, could I walk back with you? I’m still a bit cold, and I’m nervous walking around by myself in the dark.”

“I can’t risk anyone seeing us enter camp together, Frondbreeze. I thought you’d have thought that far ahead, but I suppose not.”

“But I’m—”

“You’re a good Warrior, and queens are always tougher when protecting their kits. You’ll be fine. Wait a few moments to follow me so we aren’t seen together.” And with that, Amberstar turned to leave Frondbreeze in the clearing, giving her no time to react.

Frondbreeze sat and waited, shuddering against the freezing night. She wished her mate would be kinder to her, of course, but she realized that this was selfish of her, to expect him to change the way he was, especially as leader of PineClan. Any she-cat would melt at the chance to be with such a strong, handsome cat, and a leader no less! What was wrong with her? Was she really so immature that she couldn’t realize how lucky she was?

However he acted, Frondbreeze did still love Amberstar. He wasn’t cruel to her, even if sometimes she thought so—he protected her better than any other tom could, certainly, and he’d never hurt her! And that’s what love was, after all, wasn’t it?

**Author's Note:**

> Wanted to upload something special this week to herald in the New Year! I plan on writing more of these scenes; I think they're going to be my little version of "Super Editions" in a way. Thank you very much for reading!
> 
> You can find me on Twitter as @FionaBuny and on Tumblr as @Bloodinthetundra for art and updates, or even just to chat!


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